Improvement in harvesters



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOSEA W. READ, OF WEST WINDSOR, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT lIN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 22,032, dated November9, 1858.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HOsEA W. READ, of West Windsor, in the county ofWindsor and State of Vermont, have invented an Improved Machine forMowing Grass as well as for Reaping Grain; and I do hereby declare thatthe same is fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, of which- Y Figure l is aplan or top view, Fig.2 a side elevation, and Fig. 3 a longitudinalsection, of said machine Fig. 4, a transverse section of it, such beingtaken through its drivingwheels and axle. cutters and theiroperating-slides.

The nature of my invention consists principally in a peculiar mechanismor application of mechanism forthrowing the driving-pinions into oroutvof engagement with their drivinggears.

In carrying ont my invention I employ a carriage, A, whose front end issupported by a shaft or axle, B, sustained by two drivingwheels, O D.The journals of the said shaft B extend beyond the carriage A or theboxes a a thereof and into boxes b bofa tilting frame,

y E, formed and arranged with respect to the carriage A, as shown in thedrawings. The rear part of the said carriage is sustained by twoswiveling wheels,F F, from the upper end of whose forks or holders GGtwo arms, H H, extend horizontally and parallel to one another anddirectly over a rack, I, arranged upon the platform K of the carriage. Aslot, c, is made through each of the said arms, and receives a stud, d,which projects upward from a rack, I. Furthermore, a pinion, e, carriedbya vertical shaft, f, works in the teeth of the rack, such shaft beingarranged and having a hand-wheel applied to its upper part, as showninthe drawings.

The attendant or person who operates the machine is to stand on theplatform K and in rear of the horse or animal by which the machine maybe impelled forward, such animal beingplaced within the carriage A andin rear of the shaft B, and attached to a whiffletree, h, arranged belowthe shaft f, as shown in the drawings. When on the said platform K, theattendant, by laying hold of the hand-wheel and turning it horizontally,can easily cause the rear wheels to beswiveled or turned in a hori- Fig.5 is a top view of thezontal plane into such an angle with the verticallongitudinal plane of the machinhe as circumstances may require, inorder to change the direction of movementof the machine over the surfaceof the ground. He can also press downwardl upon the rear part of thetilting frame E, so as to tilt the same and raise the cutters oft' theground or above the same to such extent as may be desirable. Thesecutters or knives, which are shown at i it' ls lo k, are supported bylthe t-ilting frame or a cutter frame or holder, l, attached thereto.The said cutter frame or holder (an -under side view of which is shownin Fig. (5) is furnished with a series of prongs or teeth projectingfrom it, which are surmounted by angular stationary cutters m m, Sto.Each ofthe movable cutters t' or lc consists of a lever having theopposite edges of its front arm made to operate with two of the cuttersm m. Furthermore, each lever-cu tter t' or lc is arranged over andbetween two of the stationary cutters and turns on a vertical pin orfulcrum, o, and has its rear end or arm jointed to one of twoslide-barsp p', or otherwise so connected to the said bar as to bevibrated on its fulcrum owhen the bar has a reciprocating rectilinearmotion given to it. i From-the above it will be seen that there are twosets of cutters or cutting mechanism,

each being operated separately from the other.

One ofthe driving-wheels G D, or that marked O, should be capable ofrotating freely on the shaft B, the other of said wheels being fixed tothe shaft. Thus the two wheels will revolve independently of one anotherin suchv crank-wheehu, connected with one of the slidebarsp Orp', by apitman, lv. By such means' each bar por p will have a reciprocatingmotion imparted to' it when the driving-wheel next adjacent to it is inrevolution.

Areel, R, may be arranged over the cutters in the ordinary way androtated by an endless band, w, Working around two grooved pulleys, my,one of which may be carried by the shaft of the reel, While the othermay be fixed on the driving-shaft B.

In order to force the pinions r r out of e11- gagement with the gears qq, a rod, 2, extends across the tilting frame and in front of thedriving-wheel. This rod has a screw, a', cut in it near one end of it,and made to screwr into one ofthe bars 1) b of the tilting frame. Theother end of the rod extends into the other bar b, and is provided witha shoulder, c', to rest againstthe said bar ora bearer applied thereto.ln the middle ofthe rod is a wheel, d', or contrivauce to enable the rodto be rotated. By revolving the rod on its axis the two bars of thetilting frame may be sprung apart from one another, so as to throw thepinions r r out of gear with their wheels, whereby, when the machine ismoved over the surface ot' land, the action of' the cutters may bearrested. By thus having the driving-wheels to rotate independently ofeach other, and by having two separate sets of cutters, each operated bya separate mechanism, pnt in operation by one ofthe driving-wheels, andthe whole being arranged as shown in the drawings, I am enabled to gainimportant advantages, particularly while it is beingturned about on theground, in which case, as one dri\'ing\vheel will revolve faster thanthe other and is not controlled by it, the cutters ofthe former Willoperate much faster than those of the other, and thus there will be noclogging of them, and the machine will be made to perform its duty withmuch better effect While being turned and with less labor for the horsethan would be the case had it but one set of cutters, and those wereoperated by the two driving-wheels so xed on or to the shaft that onecould control the motion of the other.

In cutting grass or grain the machine is impelled forward by the horse,which, by being directly behind the cutters, is not subjected to thelateral twist or strain Which results to a horse when the cutter-bar ismade 'to project entirely on one side of the line of draft. Practice hasdemonstrated the great utility andadvantage of my machine. Whenconstructed of a proper working size a horse can readily step over thetilting frame and into or out of his place Within the carriage.

I claim- In its arrangement and combination with the tilting frame andthe machinery for operating the cutters applied thereto, as described, ascrew-rod or mechanism for spreading the bars ot' the tiltingframeasunder, so as to throw the pinions of the cutter mechanism out ot'engagementwith the gears ofthe driving-wheels, substantially in mannerand for the purpose as specified.

HOSEA W. READ.

`\VitneSSeS: y

T. V. SHEPARD, D. T. CHASE.

